Eye-bathing device



Oct. 3, 1950 c. A. WATROUS EYE-BATHING DEVICE Filed July 24, 1946Patented Oct. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EYE-BATHING DEVICECharles A. Watrous, New Haven, Conn.

Application July 24, 1946, Serial No. 685,874

6 Claims. (Cl. 128-249) The present invention relates in general tomeans for treating the eye and more particularly to an improved devicefor bathing the orbital-cavity or elements of the eye within theorbital-cavity.

Devices which have heretofore been used for applying a medicament to theeye or for washing the eye have, for the most part, consisted of douchecups adapted to be filled with a liquid which is applied directly to theeye by throwing back ones head; or devices having a syringe associatedtherewith for directing a jet of liquid against the ball of the eye.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved device forapplying an eye-treating medium to the eye.

A further object of the invention is to provide an eye-bathing devicewith improved means for applying an aerified fluid to the eye.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved eyecupadapted to be applied over the orbital cavity, and having atomizer meanscooperatively associated therewith for bathing the eye with spray orfoam.

A still further object of the invention is to provide ahighly-efficient, simple and economical device of the class describedembodying fluidnebulizing means in conjunction with other elements, topermit treatment of the eyes and orbital cavity without causing strainon th muscles of the patients neck and similar inconveniences whichusually accompany the treatment of eyes with the ordinary type ofeyecup.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to thoseskilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includesall features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings, in which cer tain modes of carrying outthe present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved eyetreating means of thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the eye-treating means shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the eye-treating means shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on line il of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the atomizervalve of the eye-treatingmeans.

In its broadest aspects, the invention comprehends eye-treating meanscharacterized by an improved device for introducing a medicinal powderor aerified medicament such as, for example, a liquid mist or foam intothe orbital cavity and is embodied in a structure which, for the purposeof illustration, comprises, a cupelement cooperatively associated withatomizingmeans and hereinafter referred to as an atom-' izer-eyecup.

. Referring to the drawings, the cup-element, indicated generally at H],may consist of glass, a molded plastic such, for example, as a phenolicmaterial, a methyl-methacrylate resin, or other equivalent material, andcomprises a substantially-semi-ellipsoidal cup ll provided with acentral-cavity l2 open at its upper end, the inside wall l3 of thecavity l2 being substantially-semiellipsoidal in shape, as seen in Fig.3, and blending at its upper edge into the outer walls of the cup I l bya radius to form a smooth rounded rim l5 adapted, when applied to theeye, to fit comfortably around the orbital cavity. The walls of the cupII are of substantially uniform thickness throughout except at one endof the major axis M of the ellipsodial-shaped cup. Here the thickness ofthe wall is increased by an inwardly-projecting protuberance indicatedgenerally at Hi, the profile of which is substantially-knee-shaped, asshown in Figs. 2 and 4, and smoothly blended into the inner wall l3 ofthe cup. The cap or cap-portion ll of the knee i6 is located in thelower half of the cavity l 2, while a line Z, perpendicular to thetangent of the cap H, is disposed in angular relationship to the majoraxis Mof the ellipsoid. Referring to Fig. 3, in the present embodiment,the angle between the major axis- M of the ellipsoidal cup and the lineZ is substantially 6 and may be more or less than 6, as long as theparticular angle chosen maintains the salient features of the invention,Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, a longitudinal aperture l8 extends throughthe wall of the cup at the knee-portion l5 thereof, the longitudinalaxis of the aperture It being substantially coincident with the line Zand having a slight-upward tilt, as. shown in Fig. l, for the purposehereinafter described. The forward end of the aperture l8 is reduced incross section by a conically-tapered bore is which intersects the cap Hin a relatively-small orifice 28. The rear end of the longitudinalaperture I8 is enlarged in diameter to provide a chamber 2i hereinafterreferred to as'the medicament-chamber which has a counterbore 22 at itsrear end provided with internal threads 23. The rear or outer extremityof the internally-threaded counterbore 22 is provided with asmooth-walled counterbore 24, hereinafter referred to as theair-chamber. Adapted to be secured in the threaded counterbore 22 is anatomizer-valve indicated generally at 25 in Fig. 5, comprising ahead-portion 26, the perimeter of which may b cylindrical or hexagonalas desired; and an externally-threaded shanl-2- portion 27 which isadapted to be threadedly engaged with the threads 23 of the counterbore22.

Extending from the shank-portion 2'! of the atomizer-valve andcoextensive with the longitudinal axis thereof, is the nozzle 28 of thevalve which, as shown in Fig. 4:, comprises a tubular membersubstantially equal in diameter to the diameter of the aperture 88 andmounted at its rear end with a sliding friction fit in a longitudinalaperture 29 of the shank 2! of the valve for the purpose hereinafterdescribed. The rear end 30 of the nozzle 28 is normally spaced forwardlyof the closed end of the aperture 29 to form a chamber 3! into which airis adapted to be delivered from an aperture 32 which intersects the wallof the aperture 29 and extends radially and at substantially rightangles thereto through the wall of the shank 21 of the valve, for thepurpose hereinafter described. Although the valve-nozzle 28 is shown asa separate element, it will be understood that the latter may be formedas an integral part of the shank-portion 2'! of the atomizer-valve. Alongitudinal fiat 33 is provided along the nozzl from a point thereonslightly forwardl of the face 34 of the shank 21 to the forward end ofthe nozzle, so that when the valve 25 is assembled in the aperturedprotuberance it of the cup, a relief-recess 35 will be provided betweenthe substantially-cylindrical wall of the aperture l8 and the fiat 33 ofthe valve-nozzle. The forward extremity of the valve-nozzle is providedwith a substantially-conical point 36, the taper of which, as indicatedin Fig. 4, corresponds substantially to the conical bore I9 of theaperture [8 in the protuberance N5 of the cup. Although one fiat 33provides a satisfactory relief-recess, it is to be understood that morethan one flat or its equivalent may be used.

Thus, when the valve 25 is threadedly mounted in the counterbore 22 inthe protuberance l6, its head 26 is adapted to seal the outer end of theair-chamber 24, at which time the conicallytapered end 36 of the nozzleis spaced an extremely-slight normally-predetermined distance from theadjacent conically-tapered bore l9 of the aperture l8 so as to form arelatively-narrow substantially-conical inwardly-diverging passage 31therebetween. Since it may be desirable to vary the fineness of theatomized fluid issuing from the orifice 20, the nozzle 28 is mountedwith a longitudinal sliding friction fit in the shankportion of theatomizer-valve, as described above, as a consequenc of which thecomically-tapered end of the nozzle may be adjusted at varying distancesfrom the sonically-tapered bore l9 of the aperture it. In the event thenozzle 28 is formed as an integral part of the valve, then it is withinthe purview of the invention to provide a resilient washer (not shown)between the head 26 of the valve and the adjacent wall of the cup, topermit adjustments to be made in the size of the passage 31, at the sametime maintaining the outer end of the air-chamber 24 closed.

In its assembled position in the cup-wall, the

v outer end of the radial aperture 32 of the valve lies substantiallyopposite the air-chamber 24 into which air is adapted to be lead bymeans of a passage 38, the upper end of which intersects the wall of theair-chamber 24; and which extends downwardly through the wall of theeyecup to a point at the rear thereof substantially opposite thecorresponding end of the minor axis m of the cup ellipse. At this point,the lower end of the passage 38 intersects a passage 39 which coincideswith the longitudinal axis of a shoulder 40 (see Fig. 1) protrudingrearwardly and downwardly from the base-portion 4| of the cup I l.Formed integrally with or otherwise secured to the lower end of theshoulder 49 is a nipple 42 to which an air-bulb 43 is adapted to besecured. It will be clear that by squeezing the bulb 43, air may beforced up through the passages 39 and 38 into the air-chamber 24 andfrom thence through the radial passage 32 of the valve into the axialpassage 44 of the valve-nozzl 23, the outer end of which is disposedsubstantially opposite the orifice 29 in the cap ll of the cup. Althoughan air-bulb 43' provides suitable means for forcing air through theaforesaid passages of the cup, it is to be understood that air may besupplied by any other equivalent air-compressing device, which may beattached, for example, by an air-hose to the nipple 42. Intersecting thwall of the fluidchamber 2| in the protuberance [6 of the cup is apassage 45 which extends downwardly through the wall of the cup into thebase-portion 4| thereof. The base-portion 4| of the cup I I is anintegral part thereof, being blended to the underside of the cup I l bya neck-portion 46 of reduced diameter, to facilitate holding the cup.The periphery of the base GI is substantially cylindrical and has in itsbottom an upwardly-extending substantially-cylindrical aperture 41, thewalls of which are provided with relatively-coarse threads 4-8.Intersecting the upper closed end 49 of the aperture 4? is aninternally-threaded aperture 50, the longitudinal axis of which is inalignment with the longitudical axis of the passage 45, the lower end ofthe latter terminating in the upper end of the aperture 59. The diameterof the latter is greater than the diameter of the passage 45 and isadapted to receive the upper externallythreaded end of a tube 5| whichis threadedly secured therein. The lower end of the tube 5! extendsdownwardly and terminates immediately adjacent the bottom of a. suitablecontainer 52 for holding the fluid or other medicament to be used intreating the eye. The container may comprise a glass bottle orequivalent means which is provided at its upper end with a neck 53having external threads adapted to threadedly engage the internalthreads 48 of the aperture 4'! in the base 4! of the cup. A washer 54 isshown between the end wall 49 of the base 4| and the neck 53 of thebottle to provide a tight joint therebetween. As shown in Fig. 4, thebottle is adapted to be vented by means of a passage 55, the upper endof which is opened to the atmosphere adjacent the neckportion 46 of thecup, the lower end of the passage 55 intersecting the end wall 49 of thebase 4! opposite the upper open end of the bottle 52. The specificlocation of the passage 55 is not critical, however, and is preferablylocated where it will be least likely to be inadvertently closed whenusing the cup.

From the foregoing description, it will be clear that when the bulb 43issqueezed, air will be forced up into the axial aperture 44 of thenozzle 28 and out the forward end thereof, as described above, therebycreating an aspirating eiiect within the chamber 2| sufiicient to causea fluid medicament within the bottle 52 to move upwardly through thetube 5! and passage 45 into the chamber 2i and from thence through thereliefrecess 35 into the extremely-narrow substantially-conical passage31 between the conical end 36 of the valve-nozzle and theconically-tapered bore I9 of the aperture l8. As a consequence, theliquid will issue from the orifice in a substantially-atomizedcondition, that is to say, in the form of finely-divided particles. Aspointed out above, the atomizer-valve and orifice 20 from which thespray issues, are located substantially at one end of the major axis M,of the cup-ellipseasa consequence of whichthe spray issuing from theorifice 20 is directed across the cup so as not to impinge directly uponthe eyeball and the other highly-sensitive membranes of the orbitalcavity. It is to be understood, however, that the same advantages wouldresult by locating the orifice 20 of the atomizer-valve at one end ofthe minor axis m of the cup-ellipse, or at any point intermediate theextremities of the ellipse axes so long as the spray or other atomizedmedium issuing from the orifice, is directed across the cup in a planesubstantially'parallel to the plane of the major and minor axes of thecup-ellipse. As a consequence, the minute particles of the spray traveltransversely across the open end of the cup before impinging against theopposite wall thereof, and hence the heavier particles of spray willdrop to the bottom of the eyecup before reaching the opposite wall orwall of impingement, thus separating out the heavy from the fineparticles and providing a substantiallynebulized mist within the upperpart of the cup. Moreover, the extremely-fine highly-aerified ornebulized particles which do impinge against the wall of the cupsubstantially opposite the orifice 20, do so at an angle to the wall ofimpingement because of the angular disposition of the valvenozzle 28',as described above, and hence are in-.

duced both by the slope of the surface of the wall of impingement andthe concomitant air issuing from the orifice 2!! to rotate or swirlaround the inside wall l3 of the cup. Although the angular dispositionof the valve-nozzle with respect to the major axis M of the cup is apreferred construction for inducing the swirling action of the atomizedmedium, it is to be understood that substantially the same effect may beaccomplished by arranging the valve-nozzle 23 substantially parallel tothe major axis but offset laterally therefrom; and that any otherarrangement of the valve-nozzle 28 may be used as long as the spray ormedium issuing from the orifice 20 is induced, when striking the wall ofimpingement of the cup, to rotate or swirl around the inside wallthereof. The slight upward tilt of the valvenozzle also serves toenhance the turbulent swirling motion of the nebulized mist.

Assuming the eyecup is held over the orbital cavity, as the operatorcontinues to squeeze the bulb 43, the eyecup I I becomes quickly filledwith the fine swirling body of nebulized fluid or mist which provides anideal bathing medium for treating the highly-sensitive membranes,eyesocket and eyeball of the eye. Since the upper rim l5 of the cup H isshaped to fit closely around the orbital cavity, it is desirable toprovide venting-means in the cup II to preclude building up undesirablepressure within the cup during its use. To this end, the cup is providedwith a vent 56 in the wall thereof which, in the construction shown, isadjacent the head 26 of the atomizer-valve 25, as shown in Figs. 1 and3, the location of the vent 56 being such as to prevent accidentalocclusion of the vent when using the cup. It is to be understood,however, that one or more vents may be used and that the loca tion ofthe vent 56 may be other than that shown so long as it is not in thewall of impingement of the cup, that is to say, directly opposite theorifice 20 from which the spray issues. Moreover, it should be pointedout that in providing the escape-port adjacent the atomizer-orifice 20,the release of pressure within the cup will, of necessity, augment theswirling motion of the nebulized fluid within the cup.

The atomizer eyecup thus provides improved means for bathing the eyewith a medium which is not directed at the highly-sensitive organs ofvision and which is preferably in an extremelyfinely-dividedhighly-aerified state. This mistlike eye-treating medium whollyeliminates the discomfitures and shock which usually, accompany the useof the ordinary liquid-douche eyecup. Furthermore, the eye-treatingmedium, be it a water mist or a suitable atomized medicament, hasimparted thereto a turbulent swirling motion which is extremelybeneficial and effective for bathing all areas of the eye and, althoughthe device is especially adapted for bathing the orbital-cavity in aswirling fiuid mist, it is within the purview of this invention touse'other eyetreating mediums such, for example, as a sulfacompounddusting powder for treating an infected orbital cavity and the like.Finally, the device is designed so that it may be conveniently operatedby one hand, if necessary, and so as to be operable without bending backthe head, thus facilitating the removal of foreign bodies from the eyeand precluding the discomfitures and waste attending the use ofconventional eyecups.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than'thoseherein set forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. An eye-treating device comprising a cup element for enclosing theorbital cavity; and atomizer-means cooperatively associated with saidcup-element and characterized by a valvenozzle adjustably mounted in onewall of said cup-element and arranged to spray an atomized fluid ofvariable fineness into said cup-element and to direct said atomizedfluid across said cupelement against the opposite wall thereof and at anangle, tangential to said opposite wall thereof so as to provide aswirling body of mist in said cup-element for bathing said orbitalcavity.

2. An eye-treating device comprising a cupelement for enclosing theorbital cavity, said cupelement having atomizer-means comprising anair-chamber and a medicament-chamber formed in a wall thereof and avalve-member interconnecting said air-chamber and saidmedicamentchamber;air-supplying means secured to said cup-element for supplying air tosaid air-chamcup-element having atomizer-,means comprising anair-chamber and a medicament-chamber formed in a wall thereof and avalve-member interconnecting said air-chamber and saidmedicament-chamber; air-supplying means secured to said cup-element forsupplying air to said airchamber; a medicament-container attached tosaid cup-element for supplying a medicament to said medicament-chamber;passages in the wall of said cup-element joining said air-chamber andsaid medicament-chamber to said air-supply means and saidmedicament-container respectively, said valve'member being arranged tomix the air and medicament of said interconnected chambers so as todeliver an aerified medicament into said cup-element for bathing saidorbital cavity; and means to adjust said valve-member to vary thefineness of the aerified medicament being delivered into saidcupelement.

1. An eye-treating device comprising a cupelement for enclosing theorbital cavity, said cupelement having atomizer-means comprising anair-chamber and a medicament-chamber formed in a Wall thereof and avalve-member having a shank-portion threadedly engaged in the saidairchamber and a nozzle arranged to project into said medicament-chamberand to interconnect the latter with said air-chamber; an air-bulbsecured to said cup-element for supplying air to said air-chamber; amedicament-container at-. tached to said cup-element for supplying amedicament to said medicament-chamber;and passages in the wall of saidcup-element joining said air-chamber and said medicament-chamber to saidair-bulb and said medicament-container respectively, said valve-memberbeing arranged to mix the air and medicament of said intercom-1 nectedchambers so as to deliver an aerified medicament to said cup-element forbathing said orbital cavity.

5. An eye-treating device comprising a cupelement for enclosing theorbital cavity, said cupelement having atomizer-means comprising anair-chamber and a medicament-chamber formed in a wall thereof and avalve-member having a shank-portion threadedly engaged in the saidairchamber and a nozzle arranged to project into said medicament-chamberand to interconnect the latter with said air-chamber; an air-bulbsecured to said cup-element for supplying air to said air.chamber; amedicament-container attached to said cup-element for supplying amedicament to said medicament-chamber; passages in-the Wall of saidcup-element joining said airchamber and said medicament-chamber to saidair-bulb and said medicament-container respectively, said valve-memberbeing arranged to mix the air and medicament of said interconnected.

chambers so as to deliver an aerified medicament to said cup-element forbathing said orbital cavity, the said nozzle of said valve-member havingan adjustable connection with the said shank-. portion thereof therebyto vary the fineness of the aerified medicament being delivered intosaid cup-element.

6. An eye-treating device comprising a cup-element for enclosing theorbital cavity, said cupelement having atomizer-means comprising anair-chamber and a medicament-chamber formed in a Wall thereof and avalve-member having a shank-portion threadedly engaged in the saidair-chamber and a nozzle arranged to project into saidmedicament-chamber and to interconnect the latter with said air-chamber;an air-bulb secured to said cup-element for supplying air to saidair-chamber; a medicament-container at-- tached to said cup-element forsupplying a medic-,

ament to said medicament-chamber; passages in the wall of saidcup-element joining said air. chamber and said medicament-chamber tosaid air-bulb and said medicament-container respectively, saidvalve-member being arranged to mix the air and medicament of saidinterconnected chambers so as to deliver an aerified medicament to saidcupelement for bathing said orbital cavity, the said nozzle of saidvalvemember being disposed at an acute angle to the major axis of saidcup-element so as to direct an aerified medicament across saidcup-element against and at an obtuse angle to the Wall of saidcup-element opposite said nozzle so as to provide a swirling body ofaerified medicament in said cup-element for bathing said orbital cavity,said nozzle having an adjustable connection with the said shankportionof said valve-member thereby to vary the fineness of the aerifiedmedicament.

CHARLES A. WATROUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,121,667 Ross Dec. 22, 19141,362,682 Dayton Dec. 21, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date10,377 Great Britain 1888 295,162 Germany Nov. 11, 1916 190,022 GreatBritain Dec. 14, 1922 764,728 France May 26, 1934 113.476 Australia July24, 1941

